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Anonymous Posted 10 years ago
Grammar

Past perfect in subordinate clause

Hi. Is it correct to use the past perfect tense in the subordinate clause that starts with the word "while" in the following example sentence? If not, is it possible to have a sentence in the past tense with a past perfect tense in its subordinate clause? Thank you in advance for your help.

While he he had been served with his dinner, another person walked into the door.
  

Top answer

While he he had been served with his dinner, another person walked into the dining room door . No, you need a continuous tense here. While he was being served his dinner, another person walked into the dining room .

— AlpheccaStars

  • While he he had been served with his dinner, another person walked into the dining room door .
  • No, you need a continuous tense here.
  • While he was being served his dinner, another person walked into the dining room .
  • " While he had visited the cathedral many times in the past, this was the first time that he noticed the secret door in the floor under the altar.
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3 Answers
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While he he had been served with his dinner, another person walked into the dining room door.

No, you need a continuous tense here.

While he was being served his dinner, another person walked into the dining room.

You can use that sequence of tenses, but "while" does not mean "during", it means "
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Anonymousanother person walked into the door.
Ouch! Emotion: smile

CJ
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AnonymousIs it correct to use the past perfect tense in the subordinate clause that starts with the word "while" in the following example sentence?
Not as in that sentence. No. But you can have that sequence of tenses.

While he had washed dishes, she had watched TV.

It's not a very useful combination of tenses, but theoretically poss
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